Follow Us

InterNAP Calls $30 Mil. Review

Internet Speed Provider Looking in Bay Area, Pacific Northwest SAN FRANCISCO–InterNAP, a company that offers business solutions to Internet bottlenecks, is searching for an agency to handle its $30 million ad account, according to agency sources and the client. Sources said the Seattle-based company is looking at shops in the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest. Consulting firm Select Resources International of Los Angeles has sent letters to numerous agencies requesting proposals and creative portfolios, sources said. SRI will review the submissions and decide which agencies the client will meet. InterNAP bills its service as one that helps users move their computer information faster by bypassing heavily trafficked Internet connections. InterNAP pays such companies as UUNet, Sprint and GTE for better connections to Internet backbones. The company claims faster service is crucial because many companies rely on quick Internet service for their business. “These are real players,” one source said about InterNAP. “They are really high-end and provide a backbone for Internet service providers and Internet users. They only work with the Amazons and the heavy dot-com clients.” InterNAP officials said they have developed a broad list of agency candidates, but declined to name them. The company has decided the time is right to better publicize its service, they added. “Our company is four years old with substantial market capital, and there’s a demand for our service,” said InterNAP spokesman Bill Hankes. “There is quite a bit of education about our product that needs to happen. Our service will become more and more in demand,” Hankes said. He added that InterNAP is especially interested in agencies that have a global network and “strong brand-building experience.” A source said competition for the business will no doubt be fierce. “This would be a good piece of business for any agency to have,” one source said. “It’s been highly regarded on Wall Street and has a proven business model. It’s still very business-targeted, but it could become global.” InterNAP has not hired an agency before, according to Hankes. Company officials did not have an exact timeline for a decision on finalists but said it may come in the next several weeks. K